Russia can build meteorite rockets

A missile and space technology group in Russia said it would deploy a missile-making project capable of destroying earth-threatening meteors.

Apophis, one of the three large meteors capable of threatening the earth.

Vitaly Lopota, executive director of the Enegia rocket and space technology group, said that three large meteors are capable of hitting the globe in the next few decades, reported Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Apophis is one of three meteorites that. A collision between the earth and Apophis will have the same destructive power as 1,700 million tons of explosives.

"In order to change the trajectory of a meteorite like Apophis, humans need a 70-ton missile carrying a nuclear warhead. The missile will pull the meteorite away from the globe and destroy it with fusion energy."

Astronomers discovered Apophis in 2004. They predicted it would fly about 30,000km away from the earth - equivalent to nearly a tenth of the distance between the globe and the moon - by 2029.

"Energia has prepared to be able to make a meteorite capable of destroying meteors for 3 to 5 years," he said.